


Heroes of London

by BadWolfGirl01



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Torchwood(s), Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Artificial Intelligence, Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf Rose Tyler, DoctorDonna, F/M, Immortal Jack, Immortality, Superheroes AU, Telepath War, Telepathy, Torchwood One
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:20:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6770293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolfGirl01/pseuds/BadWolfGirl01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Superhero AU my muse has demanded, inspired by a gif on Tumblr depicting Nine, Rose, and Jack in badass-y positions with "the Oncoming Storm, the Bad Wolf, the Face of Boe" inscribed. So of course I get this thing.</p><p>Rose Tyler, Vitex heiress, has a secret life. She's the girl behind the golden mask of the Bad Wolf, one of London's best known superheroes. She's also got a secret ability, one that sets her apart: she's a telepath.</p><p>Jack Harkness is an American with a turbulent past and a depressing inability to die. He took up residence in London as a superhero, calling himself the Face of Boe for the small town he was born in, and ended up as drinking buddies with Rose Tyler. After a trip to America goes awry and he stumbles across a legend, his only thoughts are that Rose needs to meet this guy.</p><p>John Noble, the Oncoming Storm, is a legend in the world of superheroes, but he's very rarely seen. After helping Jack out of a tight spot and confessing his telepathy and time senses to the other man, John agrees to meet this Rose. He also agrees to keep the pair informed on Torchwood via his sister, Donna.</p><p>When Torchwood discovers the trio's special abilities, they must work together to survive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

By day, she was Rose Tyler, daughter of wealthy businessman Pete Tyler and heiress to his nationally successful company, Vitex. A brilliant, athletic blonde with hazel eyes and a cheeky, tongue-touched grin, Rose was the tabloids’ favorite target; her picture was often plastered on the front cover of every magazine in the rack, garish lettering blaring out the newest speculations on her life. The fact that she was twenty-four and still without a love interest baffled the tabs, and they made up for it by filling their covers with pictures of Rose and childhood friend Mickey, wondering about ‘hidden love?’.

By night, however, she was a completely different person. Wearing close-fitting garments of a stretchy, black material, Rose took up the mantle of the Bad Wolf, one of the superheroes prowling the streets of London. While most of the so-called ‘superheroes’ relied on their physical abilities, Rose had a secret skill, one that would land her smack dab in the middle of Torchwood were it known: telepathy. Torchwood was the reason most ‘real’ superheroes kept it under wraps; anyone with so-called “augmented abilities” was captured, experimented on, and would never see the light of day again.

There was nothing that would set this Friday night apart from the rest. Rose had received an invitation to attend a party put on by the high-born French politician, Reinette, but had politely declined. She knew the only reason Reinette had invited her was because it guaranteed media attention. With a sigh, Rose dressed in her “skulking outfit” as her mother had once called it—Jackie had no idea what it was really for, thankfully—pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and fitted her gold wolf mask to her face. The mask was a finishing touch thought up by her fellow superhero and drinking buddy, Jack Harkness. Many superheroes wore masks depicting something alluding to their chosen name, and Jack had decided Rose needed to follow this trend.

Speaking of Jack, Rose found herself grinning as she snuck out the window of her flat and wove her way through London. They were to meet at one of the underground bars superheroes frequented for the first time in nearly a year. Jack had been in America, dealing with… well, Rose didn’t know what. Something dangerous was all Jack had told her.

Rose pushed open the door to The Black Mask bar and sighed happily. The bartender shouted a greeting, and Rose pushed her way over to him. He wore a plain, black mask—the mask for which the bar was named—but it could not conceal the grin on his face.

“Bad Wolf! Been far too long since you’ve set foot inside this divine establishment,” he commented in a rough voice. “You take your usual?”

“Yep,” Rose told him, popping the ‘p’ enthusiastically. “God, I’ve missed this place.”

“The Face back then?” the bartender (he called himself Barkeep) asked, a knowing smile on his face.

“God, ‘Keep, don’ be like that. He’s my drinkin’ buddy, you know that. An’ ‘m willin’ to bet he’s ‘lready at the usual table,” Rose asserted firmly.

“Right as usual, Wolf girl,” Barkeep said, laughing. He handed her a drink. “Get on over there, say hi to him. He’s had a rough go of it lately, so I heard.”

Rose thanked Barkeep and headed to the back corner of The Black Mask, where, half hidden in shadow, was a single table. All three chairs at it (although only two were ever used) were facing the door, as well as the entire room; the perfect place for two people with dangerous secret abilities to hide out. No one could sneak up on them.

Rose carefully set her drink down on the table before turning to face the figure slumped in the chair. “Jack?” she asked softly, being careful to ensure there were no eavesdroppers.

“Rosie!” Jack answered with obvious enthusiasm. His voice, however, was raw and exhausted, and Rose frowned.

“Jack, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Rosie! How’d you survive a year without me?” Jack asked, trying to deflect the question. Rose sighed and rolled her eyes, taking a long drink.

“Ja-ack,” she said warningly. “Stop tryin’ to bullshit me. I know you better than that.”

“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “America was… hard. I had to go back to Boe.”

“To Boe?” Rose asked, sure she’d misheard him. Jack hadn’t been in Boe since he’d signed up for the Army; the first kid from the tiny town to do so, he’d been called the Face of Boe. After he died the first time, Jack had moved to London, hacked his way to a new identity, and taken up residence among the other superheroes of the UK.

“Yeah,” Jack said tiredly. “Or rather, where Boe used to be.”

“Used to be…” Rose murmured softly. “How can a town disappear? Even one as small as Boe…”

“It didn’t disappear. It burned.”

“Oh.” Rose stared at Jack for a long moment, then added, “do you know why?”

“Not a clue,” the American stated. “But, I met a guy from around here.” Pausing, Jack grinned rakishly. “Too bad he wasn’t interested. He did have some interesting information, though. Specifically, a sister who works for Torchwood.”

“Really?” Rose exclaimed. “’E’s got insider status at Torchwood?”

“Yes indeed,” Jack answered, grinning at the stunned expression on her face. “The Oncoming Storm himself. I took the liberty of setting us up a meeting. I think you’ll like him.”

The wink Jack threw at her from behind his mask made Rose roll her eyes, but she couldn’t hide her grin. The Oncoming Storm was a legend in the superhero world. It was said that he always wore jeans and a black leather jacket with a plain black mask that only covered half his face. It was also always mentioned that no one had ever seen him directly, just heard stories. Stories that the Oncoming Storm had stopped a gang war single-handedly, had by himself wiped out the entirety of both of the biggest gangs in London: Skaro and Gallifrey.

“So the Oncoming Storm is real? I dunno, I jus’ thought that he was a legend. ‘Snot a hard mistake to make; no one’s ever really seen ‘im,” Rose mentioned as they walked down the road towards wherever they were supposed to meet the hero.

“He is. Well, he could possibly be a fantasy of mine come to life, but he acted rather real,” Jack said with a lewd grin. “He’s like us.”

“’E’s got somethin’ different? An… ability?” Rose asked, making sure.

“Yeah. He’s telepathic, just like you, Rosie. Also, he says he’s got something called ‘time senses’. Something to do with feeling the passage of time and seeing people’s most likely future timelines? I don’t know, but it sounds rather badass.”

“Another telepath,” Rose breathed. She felt a grin stretch across her face as they approached the park. “I don’ believe it. I’ve never met another telepath before Jack. I think you’re havin’ me on.”

“Rose Tyler, I would never!” Jack exclaimed, affronted, a gleam of mischief in his eyes. “But really. He is one, I promise you.”

Rose sighed, but saw the sincerity on his face. _Well, he at least believes what he’s saying_ , she thought, feeling a small, traitorous bubble of hope beginning to rise in her chest. She squashed it.

Jack grinned suddenly at something up ahead; a dark figure lurking beneath a tree. Rose stepped up to it to see a handsome, older-looking man with sharp blue eyes and short brown hair, wearing a thin black half-mask, a black leather jacket, jeans, and boots. He stuck out a hand.

“John Noble, known ‘round here as the Oncoming Storm. You must be the Bad Wolf. Jack’s told me a lot about you,” he said in a Northern accent. Rose grinned a tongue-touched smile.

“Rose Tyler,” she told him. At that moment, however, lights blasted them.

“Shit,” Jack cursed, drawing a gun from the holster at his hip. “Looks like Torchwood. I’ll draw ‘em off. Get Rose out of here.”

“Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler,” John said, a manic grin lighting up his face, making him look years younger. He took her hand; Rose dimly noted that they fit perfectly. She was too busy being lost in his eyes to care about Torchwood or anything else that was happening, until John began to move, pulling her along with him. “Run for your life!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens. Note: I'll be out of town the majority of this week and so there won't be more of this until sometime next week.

_“Run for your life!”_

After several moments of running through the twisty London streets, John slowed to a walk. “Do you know where we’re supposed to meet Jack?” he asked, turning to look at Rose, who grinned.

“’Course I do. This sorta thing happens all the time,” she answered, laughing. “Jus’ follow me.”

A few minutes later, John felt compelled to make conversation. “How’d you meet Jack?” he asked, genuinely curious.

Rose grinned. “Oh, was ages ago. I—literally—ran into him.”

_She was running, running, blind and deaf, running, running. Fourteen years old and suddenly it had come upon her, crashing down like a storm, massive and terrible, people screaming, screaming inside her mind, and she just barely managed to stammer out an excuse to her parents before she took off, trying to get away from the screaming and shouting and NOISE that never ended endless noise noise noise deep and shallow pretentious and trivial and meaningful and sweet and angry and naughty and so much noise she couldn’t stand it felt as though she was drowning in thoughts._

_She had been running for hours, and her lungs and legs were burning, when through blurred vision she caught a glimpse of boots on the sidewalk in front of her and then she slammed into a wall. “Easy there,” the man said, steadying her, and when he touched her she felt it cease abruptly. Then he let go and the noise was back and she screamed, slamming her hands over her ears, stumbling until she hit the wall of the nearby building and curling in upon herself, choking on her tears—_

“Rose. ROSE.” The sound of her name and someone shaking her shoulders snapped Rose out of her memory. She froze, seeing John’s face near her, and wrenched her hand out of his, backing quickly away, her cheeks flushing.

“’M sorry, ‘m so sorry, I didn’t mean—I didn’t realize—I don’t know how not to!” she finally got out. “Jack’s the only one who can feel it, when somethin’ hits me hard, I don’t—god, ‘m sorry.”

“Hey, ‘s okay,” John said. “I can teach you, if you want. Know what I’m doin’. You’re pretty strong,” he told her, his gaze becoming admiring. 

“You think you’re so impressive,” she managed, a soft laugh escaping her. He looked insulted.

“I _am_ so impressive!”

“You wish,” Rose said, a teasing grin spreading across her face. John looked pleased with himself.

“Got you to smile, didn’t I?” 

“’Snot impressive!”

“To me it is,” John said firmly. “So the telepathy just came to you then? That must’ve been hard.”

“Yeah,” Rose told him quietly. “It was. Jack, though, he’s kinda telepathic, just a lil bit, and so ‘e taught me a bit of shieldin’. Anyway, I didn’t know where I was, when I ran into him, an’ so Jack told me ‘bout it, an’ I decided I wanted to. Don’t think I would’ve managed to stay off of Torchwood’s radar for this long if he hadn’t have found me. What about you?”

“What about me?” John asked.

“Where’re you from, for starters,” Rose said decidedly.

“Oh, all over the place,” John said evasively. “Traveler, me. Never really stay in one place too long, though I always seem to end up back here.”

Rose gave him her best Jackie Tyler glare (a highly useful skill she was finally perfecting) through her mask. “Uh uh. None of that, mister. Where’re you from?”

“Not like you would know where it is,” he snapped suddenly. “Why do you want to know so badly, hmm? Because I’m pretty sure it is my decision and mine alone to tell you anything about myself, Miss Tyler, so butt out.”

His blue eyes burned brightly and as he stared down at her, Rose saw why he was called the Oncoming Storm. She shivered, but not from fear. Long moments passed, the air crackling between them, neither of them aware that they had completely stopped moving and were just staring into each other’s eyes. John was the first to tear himself away.

“We,” he swallowed, dragging his eyes away from hers, “we should get moving. Jack’ll be waiting.”

“Yeah,” Rose whispered, forcing herself to look away. She cleared her throat. “Yeah. An’ knowin’ Jack, he’ll probably assume the worst.” A thought occurred to her, and she blurted it out without considering. “Bet ya ten quid he says somethin’ about how long it took?” She felt her cheeks flush and she licked her lips. “Ya know, in typical Jack style.”

“We’ll probably beat him there. I’m pretty sure he died at least once,” John said confidently. “You’re on.”

Five minutes later, they reached the rendezvous spot. Jack lounged indolently against the street lamp.

“Well, look who decided to show up,” he drawled, a knowing smirk on his face. “How was the… walk?”

“You owe me ten quid!” Rose crowed, spinning to point a finger at John.

He muttered something inaudible, having to do with “women” and “insufferable.”

“What was that?” Rose asked, smiling sweetly. Jack chuckled at the look on John’s face.

“Nothing,” he said quickly. Too quickly, but Rose didn’t push.

“Bit of advice,” Jack said with a grin. “Never make a bet with Rose Tyler. You will always, always lose.”

Rose extended her hand, wiggling her fingers. “Pay up,” she ordered.

“I don’t have any cash!” John protested. A nearby cash point caught his eye and he grinned at it, pulling a silver cylinder from his pocket.

“No,” Jack said, attempting to steal it. “You are not using your… whatever-it’s-called to hack the cash point. That is so cheating.”

“It’s a sonic screwdriver,” John said with emphasis. 

“What’s a sonic screwdriver?” Rose asked, curious.

“It’s a tool. For hacking. And other things. You wouldn’t understand,” John said, turning his attention to a watch half-hidden by his leather jacket. “Listen, this has been fun, but I’ve got to get back to the flat. Donna’ll slap me senseless if I’m late.”

“Donna?”

“My sister,” John told her. “Tryin’ to keep me out of trouble with Torchwood, she is, but she’s gone a bit overboard. Giving me a curfew. Me! Like I’m some teenager!” The expression on his face was one of horror. Rose couldn’t help it; she laughed.

“I think I like her already,” she said with a tongue-touched grin. 

“She’s far too feisty for her own good,” Jack said, shuddering slightly. “Practically ordered me to flirt with her. Have you ever tried to flirt on command?”

Rose rolled her eyes, barely managing to hold in a laugh. That was when she caught sight of John’s face, and she completely lost control, dissolving into laughter warmer and more real than any she had experienced in several months. Jack eventually joined them, and for several minutes the three attempted to regain control over themselves.

“Well, I’ve got to get going. Things to do, and all that,” Jack finally said. “Rosie, wanna go lookin’ for trouble tomorrow night?”

“I’d love to,” Rose answered honestly.

“Great,” Jack replied, grinning. “See you!” With that, the man took off down the street, leaving Rose alone with John.

“You still open to being taught?” John asked suddenly, turning to look down at Rose.

“Telepathy, you mean?” Rose asked, after glancing around to make sure there were no observers.

“Yup.”

“’Course I am,” she said, giving him a tongue-touched grin. “When?”

John thought for a moment. “What about tomorrow morning? It’s hard work and takes longer than it seems, so be prepared to spend the whole day working at it. We could meet at my flat,” he added, almost shyly. Rose beamed.

“Sounds perfect,” she told him happily. John grinned brightly and quickly rattled off some instructions on how to find his flat. They parted ways, both smiling foolishly and extremely excited for the morning.

OoOoO

“Ma’am,” the technician started nervously, approaching the desk. The tall blonde woman seated there was likely to have his head for this, even though it wasn’t his fault.

“Yes?” Yvonne Hartman asked, swiveling her chair to face the man in the white lab coat. “Unless this is about the Genesis Project, you are going to regret interrupting me,” she stated dangerously.

“It is, Ma’am,” the technician hastened to assure her. “The Genesis Project is going exceedingly well; we thought that we might be completing it tonight. However, there’s a complication.”

“Go on.”

“To truly achieve the desired effect, we require a mind. The process will be tricky, but we believe that we can successfully transfer the consciousness into the computer quite easily. However, we require a specific type of mind, one that’s receptive to the frequency we will use as well as compatible with the Genesis software. We have tests that will determine this.”

“Run them on all Torchwood employees. Start with the secretaries and other expendable people first. My scientists are too expensive to replace easily,” Yvonne ordered. “You will begin immediately. I want the Genesis Project completed as soon as possible.”

“Ma’am,” the technician acknowledged, saluting. He walked out of the office, inwardly sighing with relief. Yvonne had believed him. There were no questions about the transfer process. _Easily, like hell,_ he thought tiredly. _We’ll be lucky to get the mind into the computer successfully; not to mention the slim but possible chance of the software meshing with the mind and transferring itself into the body. God save us from her wrath if that happens._

The man pushed the door to the lab open and took a deep breath, looking at the expectant faces of his coworkers. “Alright, guys. Yvonne gave us the green light. Proceed with testing, starting with the most expendable and working our way upwards. Come on, we’ve got no time to waste.”


	3. Chapter 3

“You’re surprisingly good at this,” John said. They were taking a break from the practice session to eat a quick lunch.   
Rose grinned. “Didn’t you say ‘s mostly instinctive?” she asked, taking a bite of the cold chicken sandwich that Donna had put together before heading into Torchwood. She washed it down with a sip of tea, waiting for John’s answer. He tipped his head to one side, considering.

“Sorta, yeah,” he said finally. “But there’s a lot of trainin’ involved; you have to learn how to control it. Took me years, and I had the best teachers on Earth.” He seemed to realize what he had said, then, and his face shuttered, his eyes hardening. 

“Teachers?” Rose asked excitedly, completely missing the subtle cues. “There’re others like us? Other—telepaths?”

“There were,” John said, his voice strangled. “Yes.”

Rose finally took notice of him and paused. “John?” she started hesitantly. He pasted a smile on his face, but his eyes were cold and closed.

“You done eating?” he asked, skillfully evading the question implied in her eyes. “You’ll want to be finished with this early, if you plan on goin’ out with Jack and makin’ trouble tonight.”

“You could come,” she offered impulsively. John made a face.

“I work mostly alone,” he stated firmly. “Don’t do partnerships, me. Gets too domestic.”

“Never woulda pegged you as bein’ against domestics,” Rose said, grinning, tucking her tongue betwixt her teeth. “’Lright, then, suit yourself.” She shrugged. “Jus’ don’t complain bout bein’ left out. I did offer.”

“I don’t work with other people,” John said again. “Brilliant, me. You others are practically apes compared. Get in the way.”

Before Rose could respond to that, her mobile rang. She answered. “Hello?”

“Rose, Rose, I stopped by your flat, but you appear to not be in residence,” a trilling voice with a posh French accent exclaimed.

“Reinette,” Rose said with a sigh, rolling her eyes at John. He chuckled. “What do you want?”

“Now, now, that’s no way to speak to a friend, is it, my dear. My dearest friend purchased me this dress and sent it to me from back home, but it looks simply atrocious on me. I am convinced, however, that it would look stunningly beautiful on you, Rose. I thought perhaps, if it fits, you may be encouraged to wear it to the Vitex dinner approaching?”

“Listen, Reinette, ‘m a bit busy. Can I call you later?”

“Of course, dear. I eagerly await your correspondence.” With that, the politician hung up. Rose made a face at John, who was laughing. “Bloody aristocrats.”

“They tried to force me into a political role back home, once. I ran like hell,” John said, snorting. “Do not have the temper to deal with the lot of ‘em.”

“You can’t keep doin’ that!” Rose said suddenly, frustrated. “Droppin’ hints about your past but refusin’ to say anything!”

“Can’t I?” John asked. His expression changed suddenly. “If you can get into my head, you can look at whatever you want.” It was clear he didn’t think she’d be able to do so.

“Fine,” Rose muttered. They took up their positions on the floor, facing each other, and Rose closed her eyes. She could feel John, at the very edge of her senses; a dark blue cloud, seething and roiling, unfathomably deep. She took a deep breath and dove in, or rather she tried to. Just before breaking the surface, for lack of a better term, she ran into a sturdy wall. It was so high that she could not hope to scale it, and far too thick and strong to break through. Digging under it would require far too much exertion.

Rose was flummoxed. There was no way in. Or was there? A thought occurred to her, and she decided to use it. She began to pace along next to the wall, trailing her hand over its smooth, worn surface. It was surprisingly warm, like bricks that have been left out in the sun all day. As she thought this, a westering sun appeared in the suddenly dusky sky above her head, the wall becoming made of bricks, perfectly interlocked. She could feel a sort of surprise emanating from behind the wall, and she smiled a tongue-touched grin, continuing to walk until she came to a tall gate. It was made of metal, and was even more unsurmountable than the wall. There would be no entry here, or so it appeared.

 _This is my dreamscape,_ Rose thought firmly. _I have control over it_. With that thought, she began to concentrate. It was quite difficult, but soon she began to see the effects of her mind. The scene was becoming more realistic, complete with a soft summer breeze drying the sweat cooling on her face. She tilted her face upwards to catch the last rays of the dying sun, all the while focusing on the gate.

At last, she opened her eyes to see that the gate had shrunken and morphed into a simple wooden structure with a plain sliding latch. Walking up to it, Rose undid the latch and entered. 

John’s mind was awash with thoughts and feelings, but the most prominent one was a sudden spike of fear. Rose soothed it without conscious thought, reveling in the feel of another mind against hers. She laughed gleefully, spinning around and throwing her arms out in delight. After a moment, however, she remembered the reason why she had began this, and so she cast her mind out for the memories of John’s past. They came to her in a flood, a torrent of thought-feeling-ideas and she braced herself against the flow, sorting through them as quickly as possible.

_It was a small secluded place. Absolutely beautiful, populated only by telepaths and people with time senses. So many minds, buzzing away in the back of her/John’s mind, but carefully shielded so that only an echo of their presence could be felt. Gallifrey, the town was called, and neighboring it was Skaro, which confused Rose, because weren’t those gangs? But the part of her that was John remembered/learned/knew that the gangs were named after their respective towns, and were just one more facet of the great War._

_Memories of the War surged up. Waged by telepaths against telepaths, it was a terrible thing, mainly mental. Of course, the people of Gallifrey had known it was coming for long years, being able to, collectively, see the thoughts of the entire Earth. Including the Skarosians. Of course, the Skarosians had this ability, as well, but they could not see the thoughts of Gallifreyans; the two people were too different._

_Rose/John watched the War from afar, as weapon after weapon, designed to target the mind, exploded. Only their exceptional shields protected them. The Lord President of Gallifrey finally came up with a plan to end the War: collaboration with the Torchwood Institute in their planning of creating true artificial intelligence by fusing humans with computers. This plan, called the Final Sanction, made bile rise in Rose/John’s throat. They watched in horror as the Council agreed. Later, after the meeting was complete, Rose/John’s childhood friend Romana approached, holding a key. She spoke five words, then disappeared._

_“Take the Moment. Use it.”_

_The Moment was a bomb, often called the Thought Eater, which would utterly destroy every telepathic creature within range in a single moment, save the activator. It was said the weapon was so powerful, so old, and so tuned to telepathic frequencies that it had developed a conscience. Rose/John found out that this was true. Oddly enough, it took the form of Rose, calling itself the Bad Wolf Girl. John, who had yet to see Rose without her mask, was surprised at this, and Rose felt her mind beginning to separate from his as she watched from an outsider’s perspective, now, the detonation of the Moment._

“Out. Get. Out.” A voice wrenched Rose into the real world abruptly. “Now!” She stared at John, eyes slightly glassy. He was angry, absolutely furious. “I said OUT!” he roared, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to the door. Rose flinched away from his tight grip and thunderstruck face, for a moment seeing a different visage instead. Her mind still muddled from its recent immersion, she felt sudden panic and yanked herself away, staggering outside and fleeing the moment she’d gotten her balance.

What she didn’t know was that there was still a faint telepathic connection between her and John, and everything she’d seen and thought had flashed to him instantaneously, giving him all the information on her and Jimmy Stone. And that John was already regretting his actions.

OoOoO

Rose’s mobile buzzed, cutting off the casual conversation she was forcing herself to make with Reinette. Thankfully, however, Reinette took that as her cue to leave, leaving Rose alone with her best friend, Martha Jones. Martha squealed suddenly as she glanced at her own phone. “Oh my God, it’s 5:30! I’m meeting Mickey for dinner in an hour! I’ll never be ready in time!”

“Mickey?” Rose asked, starting to grin. “’M shocked! How long ‘as this been goin’ on?”

Martha blushed. “Not very long. This is only our third date. We’re still keeping it quiet.”

“’Course,” Rose said, nodding. “Don’ worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Only once Martha had left did Rose open the text from the unknown number.

_Rose, I was a git. I’m sorry. I’ve got chips. Text me your address and I’ll come drop them off?_

_John?_

_Yup._

_How did you get this number?_

_I’m good with computers. Chips?_

Rose bit her lip. “Sod it,” she muttered, quickly texting him her address. She absently began to pull the pins out of her hair, hoping to get out of the dress—and maybe into her mask—before John’s arrival. 

No such luck. Rose was only most of the way through getting the experimental hairdo out before there was a knock at the door. “Coming!” she shouted, yanking out several more pins and grabbing a hair tie, pulling her hair back from her face as she opened the door. John stood out front, holding a brown paper bag, looking decidedly nervous. When he saw her, his eyes widened and his jaw slackened.

“Blimey,” he exclaimed, looking her up and down. “You look _beautiful_!”

Rose flushed. “I was tryin’ this dress on for this dinner party tomorrow night. As the Vitex heiress, ‘m expected to be there, an’ to socialize. I’d much rather be runnin’ around with Jack, to be honest.” John laughed, and Rose found herself laughing with him. “Come in. Don’t mind the mess,” she added over her shoulder. “Jus’ give me a minute to change outta this getup.”

John nodded, flopping down on the couch, carefully setting the chips on the low table. Rose hurried to change out of the dress, carefully hanging it on the rack. She pulled her “skulking outfit” on and grabbed her mask before heading out to sit with him.

“’M sorry for yellin’ at you like that, Rose,” John said as they ate their chips. “What you saw… I don’t tell people about that. Ever.”

“They all died,” Rose whispered softly. “How—Donna. Never saw her there.”

“She’s not my real sister,” John said. “They called me Theta Sigma in Gallifrey. I met Donna while I was down here once, calling myself John Smith, and I changed the name to John Noble after the end of the War.”

“Been yelled at before,” Rose said casually, redirecting the focus of the conversation back to where John clearly wanted it. His eyes were shuttered and his face expressionless as he relived old memories. At her comment, however, his face cleared somewhat, and curiosity was visible in the depths of his ice-blue eyes.

“You were scared. You panicked,” John observed. “There was still enough of a residual telepathic connection to feel that. Who’s Jimmy Stone?”

Rose tensed, her gaze landing on her chips. “Doesn’t matter. Long gone.”

“’Lright,” John said. He smiled tentatively at her. “Think I changed my mind on that offer. Still open?”

“To come with me an’ Jack?” Rose asked.

“Yup.”

“’Course it is,” she said, nearly blinding him with a tongue-touched grin. “We meet down at the Black Mask at nine o’clock tonight. You’ll really come?”

“Keep my promises, I do. Even if ‘m a little late in doin’ so.”

Rose grinned and impulsively hugged him, laughing happily. For a brief few hours, everything would be right in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you want me to write the mischief Jack, Rose, and John get into or shall I just continue with the plot? Up to you.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Torchwood and plot and DoctorDonna.

Rose frowned and sighed, taking a sip of champagne. Someone—she couldn’t remember who—had taken the microphone from Pete and was making a speech, but she hadn’t paid attention to any of the first bit of it and was now completely lost. She sighed again and returned to her reverie.

 

_“So you convinced him to come, I see,” Jack said with a lewd grin._

_“Oh, hush, Boe,” she responded, swatting at his shoulder lightly. A patron at a nearby table glanced curiously over at them, but didn’t comment._

_“You know you love me,” Jack answered cheekily. “Wolf Girl and Storm Boy. Sounds like an American cartoon.”_

_John snorted derisively. “I’d thank you if you found another nickname besides ‘Storm Boy’, Boe Face,” he said, emphasizing the name._

_Jack just grinned. “I could make an exception, if you’d come to bed,” he told John with a bright gleam in his blue eyes. “Could make it very worth your while.”_

_“No,” John said decisively. “Not happening.”_

_“Why not? It’d be fun.”_

_“Jack,” Rose said, rolling her eyes. “When was the last time you were told no?”_

_“Before this?” Jack paused a moment, thinking. “When I propositioned you.”_

_Rose and John both began to laugh. “What?” Jack exclaimed. “Most people are not immune to my charms! I don’t know why I continue to torture myself with you two!”_

_Rose grinned teasingly. “’Cos you jus’ can’t stay away from me. ‘M too much fun.”_

_Jack laughed and toasted her. “Amen to that.”_

 

“Rose?” A voice intruded on her memory, and Rose blinked, refocusing on the dinner party. Jackie was hovering near her.

 

“Hey, mum. What is it?”

 

“Pete’s ‘ere, an’ he’s got Tony,” Jackie said in an undertone, nodding at the back entrance to the large room. Rose’s eyes lit up at the sight of her younger brother, who’d been away at boarding school for several months.

 

“Tony!” she exclaimed, rushing across the room to engulf the young blonde boy in her arms. “’M so happy to see you!”

 

“Nice to see you to, Rose,” Pete said drily, grinning down at her.

 

“Hi, Rose,” Tony said, beaming brightly. “I’m ten now, didja know?”

 

“’Course I did, sweetheart,” Rose said, smiling. “You think I’d jus’ forget my favorite brother’s birthday?”

 

“But Rose, I’m your only brother,” Tony said plaintively, staring up at her with childish innocence.

 

“Thank God for that,” Pete said fervently. “Don’t think I could handle Jackie Tyler pregnant again.”

 

“Oi!” Jackie shouted from across the room. “I ‘eard that, I’ll ‘ave you know!”

 

Everyone laughed, and the festivities moved into full swing. Rose danced with a few men, chatted with Martha and Reinette for a while, and was moving over to talk to her old friend Shareen when she noticed a familiar logo inscribed on the simple black uniform of a tall blonde woman. Torchwood.

 

“Dad,” Rose said quietly, moving up to stand beside Pete. He looked down at her.

 

“What is it, Rose?”

 

“Who’s the blonde?” She indicated the woman with a slight head motion.

 

“Oh, that’s Yvonne Hartman, Director of Torchwood One. She was one of our backers when Vitex was first starting, and now I return the favor. She’s got some incredible new research going on in the labs that could revolutionize everything. She’s been telling me a little bit about it. It’s quite fascinating.”

 

“You support Torchwood?” Rose hissed, barely managing to keep her voice down. She was shaking, in anger and fear. “How could you? Don’t you—“ she stopped herself just in time.

 

“Don’t I what?” Pete asked mildly. “Rose, what’s wrong with you? Torchwood is a wonderful research facility. They’re trying to create an artificial intelligence, and they’ve just had a breakthrough. We may have fully intelligent computers by the end of this year. Isn’t that amazing?”

 

“’Course it is, Dad,” Rose said hollowly. “’M not feelin’ very good. Think ‘m gonna head back to the flat. I’ll come by an’ visit Tony later this week, m’kay?”

 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Pete asked, watching her with concern in his eyes.

 

“Yeah, ‘m fine. Jus’ had too much to drink,” Rose lied. As soon as was possible, she rushed from the gathering. Upon reaching her flat, she stripped out of the fancy attire and pulled on her black clothes, tying on her mask. Before she could sneak out the window, however, she realized abruptly that there was someone else inside the flat.

 

“Hello?” she called nervously.

 

“Rose, what the hell is goin’ on?” John exclaimed as he climbed through the window. “You were broadcastin’ anger, fear, an’ anxiety halfway across the city! Lucky for you there aren’t many people who can sense psychic waves, or you’d be in a hell of a lot of trouble right now.”

 

“My father is a financial backer for Torchwood,” Rose said, her voice trembling. “Jus’ found out. The Director of Torchwood One was at the dinner tonight.”

 

“Rose Tyler,” John said. “As in Pete Tyler’s daughter, heiress to Vitex?”

 

“That’s me,” Rose said softly.

 

John whistled. “Girl, you have got to be careful.”

 

“I know, I know,” Rose said. A thought occurred to her and she grabbed her phone suddenly. “Jack!”

 

She hurried to dial the man’s number, sighing in relief when he answered. 

“Rosie, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah, ‘m fine. I jus’ found out that Dad’s a backer for Torchwood,” Rose whispered.

 

“Pete? Why would he? Doesn’t he—“ Jack paused. “Oh. He doesn’t know, does he?”

 

“No one does. Jus’ me an’ you.”

 

“And John,” Jack answered. “Rosie, you sound like you need a drink. Your flat or out?”

 

“Out,” Rose said firmly. “John’s comin’ too, he’s already with me. Didn’t know I was broadcastin’ but guess he heard me.”

 

“Right. Ten minutes, and if you aren’t here I’m coming to look for you.”

 

“Okay,” Rose said with a sigh, rolling her eyes.

OoOoO

After spending the night partying, Rose took the next day off to recover from the amount of liquor she’d imbibed. Later in the afternoon, she texted John, and met him at his flat to practice telepathy. In the evening, the two of them met Jack and got into trouble. This quickly became a regular routine. By the next Saturday, Rose had also spend a good deal of time with Donna Noble, John’s sister, and she and the sassy ginger had become fast friends. On this particular day, Donna had been called into Torchwood, where she worked as a secretary, and Rose, John, and Jack were about to implement a plan to sneak into the Torchwood archives to see what information was stored down there on their various aliases, with Rose being the primary distraction.

 

Just before they began, John received a text from Donna. _Torchwood’s being weird. Secretive. There’s some sort of testing happening. Said it’s for the Genesis Project, whatever that is. I’m going in for testing soon. I’ll try and find out more info. Tell Rose to be careful._

 

John showed Rose and Jack the text, and both of them paled. “Any idea what the Genesis Project is?” Jack asked.

 

“No, but it doesn’t sound good,” John said.

 

“Should we go see what’s going on?”

 

“Lead the way, Boe Face. Comin’, Rose?”

OoOoO

Donna sighed as she was ushered into the lab. Whatever the testing was, it had apparently been successful, as she’d immediately been hustled off, surrounded by white coats. “What is your name?” one of the scientists asked her.

 

“Donna Noble. I’m a secretary,” she answered.

 

“Yes, of course, I know that. You’re expendable.”

 

Donna tensed. “S-sorry, did you say expendable?”

 

“But of course. Let me explain.” The technician nodded to a couple men, and they moved to secure her tightly so she could do nothing but walk where they wanted her to. “The Genesis Project is Torchwood’s attempt to create an artificial intelligence unit. We discovered that we need to merge a human mind with the computer in order to create the effect.”

 

“You want to put me in a computer?” Donna exclaimed. “Bloody hell no! I’ve got a life outside this hellhole. Only work here ‘cos—“ she cut off abruptly as she realized what she was about to say.

 

“Because why? I assure you, Mrs. Noble—“

 

“Miss,” she interrupted. “Not married.”

 

“Our records state that you live with a John Noble.”

 

“He’s my brother, dumbo,” Donna snapped caustically, rolling her eyes. She tried to wrench her arms free from the men securing her, but met with no success. They maneuvered her into a room with a massive computer and several cables. Wires were hooked all over the place, and a steel headset was primed and ready to be activated. She was forced under the headset, her arms still pinioned behind her back. “Oi, listen to me! Let go! I’m not gonna turn into some bloody computer!”

 

She might have said more, but then the headset was turned on, and she knew no more.

OoOoO

Rose gasped and put her hands to her head as a powerful wave of something slammed into her mind. She whimpered, staggering, and felt John’s hands steady her. “Easy,” he whispered in her ear. “Keep it together until we find Donna.”

 

“What…” she licked her lips, swallowed, tried to regain some semblance of control. “What is that?”

 

“I don’t know,” Jack said, “but I can feel it too.”

 

John’s face grew stony. “I know what it is.”

 

“’S from—Gallifrey, isn’ it?” Rose asked. “I remember bein’ in your head, somethin’ about—“ she frowned. “’S scramblin’ my brain. Can’t think.”

 

“Not quite,” John said darkly. “The Final Sanction. You may have seen a little bit about it, but the reality was far worse. I didn’t know it was still happening here. Our founder, Rassilon, wanted us to be immortalized, and when he heard of Torchwood’s plans, he decided we would partake.” John gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing dangerously. “Come on.

 

Jack helped Rose as they rushed down sterile white hallways, looking for the source of the wave. They found it, in another sterile, white room with massive amount of monitors and cables. A large computer took up one wall, and in the middle of all the equipment, eyes closed, a silver steel headset resting on her ginger hair like a crown, was Donna Noble.

 

John lifted one booted foot and kicked the windowed door inwards, rushing inside. The white-coated lab technicians stared, open-mouthed, at the trio. Donna’s blue-green eyes opened, and suddenly, John, Rose, and Jack were forgotten.

 

“No, no! This cannot be happening!” One of the technicians cried desperately. He ran to one of the monitors and began to hit keys.

 

“Oh, don’t even try,” Donna said. “It won’t work.” She looked around, taking in all the gaping mouths. “What, you mean to tell me you hadn’t considered the 8.249 % chance that the process would work in reverse? Dumbos.” She shook her head. “This technology will never work in this way again. Oi, Spaceman! Don’t just stand there looking pretty, let’s get out of here!”

 

As they left, Rose heard someone say, “That’s Rose Tyler. Pete Tyler’s daughter. Bad Wolf is Rose Tyler. And look at these readings! Yvonne needs to see them right away.”

 

The first security camera they passed, Donna grinned cheekily at it and waved, but every camera after that was shut off. 

 

“We’ll never get out of here,” Jack said. “Wish I had a drink to toast you with.”

 

“You of little faith,” Donna said with a snort.

 

“How’re you doin’ that?” Rose asked, fascinated. “The cameras are jus’ shuttin’ off!”

 

“I’ll explain later. Come on, we need to move!”

OoOoO

As it turned out, later was holed up in Jack’s tiny flat about an hour later, waiting for word on the situation with Torchwood. “They wanted to merge my consciousness with that of the fully intelligent computer. You see, true artificial intelligence can’t happen, because it needs that spark of human ingenuity that comes from having a soul.” Donna frowned. “I sound like a bloody talking computer!”

 

“Well, you make it sound like you are one,” Jack said. “Mentally only, of course. No metal visible. I could do a more thorough check, if you wanted.”

 

“Stop it, Jack,” Rose snorted, rolling her eyes.

 

“It was just an offer,” he responded.

 

Donna’s frown suddenly deepened. “This is gonna take some getting used to,” she muttered. She closed her eyes briefly, the dark blue diamond on the front of the headset she still wore lighting up. The TV flickered on to a news broadcast. It showed pictures of Rose, both with and without her mask, as well as of John, without his mask, and Donna, without the headset.

 

“… reports that Rose Tyler, the Vitex heiress, who also uses the alias Bad Wolf, has with the help of the man and woman pictured, identified as John and Donna Noble, stolen the most promising scientific experiment of the century, one that could potentially completely revolutionize modern technology. Currently, the Tyler family is being brought in for questioning. Anyone with knowledge pertaining to the whereabouts of these three people, please contact this number.”

 

The TV shut off. Silence fell thickly over the small flat as they stared at the TV, then each other. “Oh, no,” Rose whispered suddenly.

 

“What?” Jack asked.

 

“Tony’s home from school.” She paused, then added: “An’ he’s got a gift.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would someone be willing to beta read this, help me with my characterization and my British? I'm but an American with a faint grasp of British through watching Doctor Who and Sherlock.

_“Tony’s home from school.” She paused, then added: “An’ he’s got a gift.”_

 

“I’ve gotta go,” Rose exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “He’s only ten, an’ he doesn’t know how to hide it!”

 

“Rosie, it’s too late,” Jack said, grabbing her arms. Rose shook him free and ran for the door.

 

“Rose,” John said softly. He stood by the door, keeping a covert eye out. “Do you have your mobile? Call Pete.”

 

Rose stared at him a moment, then nodded, a short, jerky motion. She withdrew into a corner. The phone rang once, twice, three times.

 

“Hello, Rose. What’s wrong? You never call me. Are you feeling better?”

 

“Dad,” she breathed. “Listen, Dad, you’ve gotta go. Run. You’re not safe, an’ Tony needs to get away before they come.”

 

“What are you talking about? You aren’t making any sense. How much have you had to drink this time?” he sounded resigned.

 

Rose frowned. “Jus’ take Mum an’ Tony an’ run! Please, ‘m beggin’ you!” She could feel tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. In the background, she heard the doorbell of the Tyler mansion ring, and Jackie shouting that she would get it. “Please, get Tony out of there. Jus’ trust me, Dad. S’not something I can explain. You jus’ need to get him away.”

 

“I’m sorry, Rose,” Pete said. “I—“ the phone call cut off.

 

 _Call terminated_ , the screen read. It went black for a moment, then: _Access denied. Contact Torchwood Institute for help._

 

She felt sick. Trying to redial only brought the same message back on the screen, and in frustration, she finally threw the phone across the room with a wordless scream.

 

“Easy there,” John said quietly. “May need that.”

 

“John,” Donna spoke up from across the room. “I hacked into the communications network. Someone—probably Torchwood—is tracing the phone call. We need to get a move on.” She sighed. “Wish I could take this bloody headset off. I look like a nutter.”

 

Jack trailed his eyes down the ginger’s body and grinned salaciously. “A nutter, but a gorgeous one,” he said with a wink. Then his face turned serious. “Why can’t you take it off?”

 

“It’s my connection to the computer,” she explained. “Allows me to interface with any form of technology.” She paused, then grinned. “I can call myself a doctor now. The DoctorDonna. How ‘bout that?”

 

“Well then, DoctorDonna, can you keep Torchwood from tracing one more call?” John asked.

 

Donna merely smiled mysteriously and closed her eyes, the headset lighting up. John grabbed Rose’s mobile and dialed a number.

 

“Hello, Sarah Jane? It’s the Doctor.”

OoOoO

“Doctor!” the woman with the brown hair exclaimed, running up to him. “I haven’t seen you in ages!” A wide grin spread across John’s face, and he embraced this Sarah Jane tightly. Rose tried to ignore the jealousy gnawing at her stomach, with moderate success.

 

“Doctor?” she asked curiously. “What sort of name is that?”

 

“You don’t go by ‘Doctor’ anymore?” Sarah Jane asked, incredulous, stepping back. 

 

“Not for a long time, now,” he answered her softly, before turning to Rose. “’S an old nickname, from before.” He swallowed. “I abandoned it.”

 

“You must be Sarah Jane,” Jack swept in, alleviating any awkwardness. He took a hand and lifted it to his lips. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Captain Jack Harkness.”

 

“Captain?” she said faintly, a blush tinging her cheeks.

 

“If he ever was a captain, he’s been defrocked,” John said gruffly.

 

“No one takes my frock!” Jack exclaimed, affronted, dropping Sarah Jane’s hand to glare at the man in the leather jacket.

 

“That’s a bleedin’ trench coat,” Donna said snappily. “Donna Noble, by the way, since you didn’t ask.”

 

Sarah Jane blushed again, this time in embarrassment. “He’s an old friend of mine,” she said by way of explanation. “I was excited to see him again.”

 

The look John shot Rose promised an explanation later, and Rose determined that she would hold him to that promise. 

 

“You abandoned me,” Sarah Jane accused John. “In Croydon!” 

 

His face turned sheepish. “Sorry?” A strange look came into his eyes and he stared off into the distance. “They called me back home, s’ why I had to leave you. Non-telepaths were forbidden. I always thought that rule a bit stupid, really.”

 

“I lived in Aberdeen,” Sarah Jane explained in an aside to a very confused Rose and Donna. “You’re Rose Tyler,” she said abruptly, a shocked expression crossing her face. “The police are looking for you. What did you do?”

 

“How much do you know ‘bout Torchwood an’ the labs?” Rose countered. “S’not somethin’ that can be told where everyone walkin’ by can listen in. Jus’ know that Torchwood’s the bad guys, but nobody knows why.”

 

The older woman rolled her eyes. “What on earth are you talking about? Torchwood’s made some incredible advancements in science. Or maybe you haven’t gotten to that in school yet?” Her voice dripped with derision. “Just how old are you?”

 

“’M twenty-four,” Rose said caustically. “An’ maybe Torchwood used to be all beneficial an’ good back in the Stone Age, when you went to uni.” She paused, considering, and sighed, mentally shaking her head. _I have no claim on him. Only known him for a week. Sure, there’s mutual attraction there, but that doesn’t mean he wants anything like that with me…_ “Sorry. ‘M jus’ tired, an’ scared for my family. Didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

 

Sarah Jane shook her head, snorting. “No, I’m the one who needs to apologize. Acting like a teenage girl—at my age!” The two women shared a smile. “Listen, my car is just over there. Once we get to my house, I expect to hear the _entire_ story.”

OoOoO

“How do you know Sarah Jane?” Rose asked quietly, in the back seat of said woman’s car. She was sitting with her head resting on John’s shoulder, and he’d slipped an arm between her and the seat, gently encouraging her closer.

 

“Used to travel, me. Went all over the world, saw more than you can ever imagine. Had a couple friends who traveled with me for a little while. Sarah was the last one. Got called home to Gallifrey, couldn’t take her with me.” John glanced down at Rose, his eyes sad. “Was young an’ foolish, back then; thought I could go right back to travelin’ after the War. Shoulda known better. Could’ve at least told Sarah somethin’ instead of running off in the middle of the night.”

 

“You sound so old,” Rose whispered softly.

 

“Sometimes I feel like ‘m 380 years old, not 38,” he answered in a similar tone. “Now go to sleep. You can barely keep your eyes open.”

 

Rose nestled tighter into John’s side and closed her eyes. Within seconds, she was asleep.

 

“Johnny boy,” Jack said from the other side of the vehicle, “you are so gone. It’s cute, how smitten you two are with each other.” He waited, then, until John met his eyes. “But if you harm one hair on her head, if you break her heart…” 

 

“I—“ John swallowed. “If I broke her heart, hurt her, I would never forgive myself.” The two men looked at each other for a long moment. “Right then,” John said with a touch of forced cheer. “We good?”

 

“Yeah,” Jack responded, nodding. “Now hush up so I can get some shut-eye.”

OoOoO

Over tea and scones, crowded around the small table in Sarah Jane’s kitchen, the next morning their hostess sat down and refused to do another thing until she knew what was going on.

 

“You need background information, first,” Jack began. “Not even Rosie has heard this entire story, so listen up.” He took a deep breath. “The higher-ups in the American government, especially those overseeing the armed forces, know that the ‘gifts’ exist. They use this knowledge for their advantage. In a tiny town by the name of Boe, there lived a little boy named John Hart. He had always longed to join the army, ever since watching a war movie when he was very young. And then, one day, when he was sixteen, an army man came to Boe. He tested John and invited him to join the army. His parents and younger brother pleaded with him to stay, but John wanted nothing more than to go, and so he left, never looking back. Not even saying goodbye.”

 

Jack took a breath, closing his eyes momentarily. “Turned out, the army guy was testing for latent telepathic ability. Latent telepaths are a whole lot more common and can be trained if you do it right. He took John to a small army base in the middle of nowhere, and young John Hart joined the ranks of the TIME Agents.”

 

“TIME Agents?” Rose asked, noting how Jack pronounced the word like an acronym. “What’s that stand for?”

 

“Temporal, Inanimate, Mental, Energy. The four classifications of ‘gifted’ people, according to the American military.” Jack explained. “If your gift involved time, you were a ‘T’ Agent; non-living items, an ‘I’ Agent; originally only gifts dealing with minds were classified as ‘M’ Agents, but later on any gift affecting any living thing; and if you could manipulate a form of energy, or a non-corporeal power, such as electricity, you were an ‘E’ Agent.

 

The problem with most of the M Class Agents was that they were nearly all latent telepaths,” Jack added tiredly. “And latents are expendable. Often thrown on the front lines; supposed to read the minds of enemy soldiers and report back to other M Class Agents before dying… well, John was unlucky. He’d just completed his four years of training, and he was already on the front lines in a bloody battle. He was shot in the chest.”

 

Jack looked at Sarah Jane, studying her face for a long moment before continuing. “Then he woke up.”

 

“John—that’s you, isn’t it?” Rose asked quietly. “You said you changed your name after leaving the Army.”

 

“Yep,” Jack said sadly. “Imagine what they’d have done with an immortal soldier.”

 

She shivered. “I don’t want to.”

 

Sarah Jane looked between the four in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

 

“John’s a telepath. You knew that, right?” Donna cut in. Sarah Jane nodded. “Well, there’re other gifts beside telepathy. Jack can’t die.”

 

“Can’t stay dead, you mean,” Jack corrected. “I can die all I want. I’m quite good at it.”

 

This elicited a laugh from Rose and Jack looked pleased with himself.

 

“I s’pose it’s my turn then,” Rose started. “S’nothing like Jack’s story. I was fourteen an’ all of a sudden I could hear everybody’s thoughts. I took off runnin’, trying to escape it, an’ I ran into Jack. He taught me the basics of shieldin’, an’ when I asked him where I was, he explained the concept of London’s superheroes. Most of ‘em are jus’ vigilantes, though.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “’M pretty sure there’re people with gifts everywhere, but we’re all scared to death to say anything because of Torchwood.”

 

Here, Donna took over. “Until yesterday, I was a temporary secretary at Torchwood. They experiment on people with gifts in the labs below the Tower.” She sighed tiredly. “The reason I got this getup on is because they tested me and decided I’d work for their ‘Genesis Project’.”

 

“I heard about that!” Sarah Jane interjected. “They said it’d been stolen. By you guys, actually.”

 

“Not bloody likely,” Donna scoffed. “I am the Genesis Project. The result of Torchwood’s attempt to create true artificial intelligence, which involves forcing a person’s mind into the software, to let the computer really think. What happened instead was the software forced itself into my head. If I take the headset off, my mind’ll burn.”

 

“Yesterday, you said Tony has a gift,” John said suddenly, looking at Rose. “What can he do?”

 

“He can mess around with minor electrical currents,” Rose explained. “S’cool, actually. I explained to him why he couldn’t show or tell his friends, but sometimes he does it on accident. ‘M scared that’ll happen, an’ Torchwood will do more than jus’ keep my family prisoners.”

 

“What if…” Sarah Jane started slowly. All four looked at her. “They don’t really need the Tylers. There’s nothing they can learn from them. Director Hartman obviously doesn’t want the general public to know exactly what the Genesis Project is, nor that her scientists screwed up. But they nabbed the Tylers anyway. The only thing I can think of is if they’re trying to set a trap with the Tylers as bait.”

 

“Sarah Jane, you are brilliant!” Jack exclaimed. He leapt to his feet and planted a firm kiss on her lips. “Ok. So, Rose, we can’t go after your family. Not like this. We have to run somewhere Torchwood can’t find us.”

 

“Director Hartman has very long arms,” John stated. “Where could we go?”

 

“Donna’s glowing,” Sarah Jane pointed out.

 

“Hush, please,” the redhead said, her voice sounding strained. Her gaze turned inward, eyes flickering rapidly back and forth as though reading. After a few moments, Donna returned to normal, the blue diamond shutting off.

 

“What was that?” Rose asked.

 

“That was me, connecting to the Internet and reading everything in existence on temporal mechanics and trans-dimensional doorways.”

 

Jack grinned. “We’ve got a supercomputer, a genius, and a guy with hands-on experience with timey-wimey stuff. Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

 

Donna’s smile widened. “You bloody well better believe it.” She looked around the room. “Who’s up to building a time machine?”


End file.
